Bari Weiss Fires Four 60 Minutes Staffers While Starting Weekly Praise Calls

com reported. The 42-year-old editor-in-chief previously remained largely aloof in the newsroom and surfaced mainly to criticize work. Weiss fired four 60 Minutes figures: correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi, Cecilia Vega and Scott Pelley, plus executive producer Tanya Simon.

Only three of the seven cast members will return next year: Jon Wertheim, Bill Whitaker and Lesley Stahl. Weiss moved her office from a second-floor space overlooking the newsroom to a sixth-floor suite at the CBS Broadcast Center on Manhattan’s West Side. The suite had been locked to outside visitors, though Weiss later adopted an open-door policy there.

Scott Pelley criticized the qualifications of new executive producer Nick Bilton and claimed Weiss was trying to murder 60 Minutes. Weiss had given Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu the choice between Lesley Stahl and Major Garrett for an interview. Stahl, 84, opted to stay and was shooting material for the next season the week Pelley was fired.

Weiss started at CBS last October. CBS News declined to comment on the reported management changes. The $110 billion merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to close later this year.